Fabrizio Tabaton (born 16 May 1955) is an Italian former

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

driver.

Racing career

European Rally Championship

Competing for the H.F. Grifone team, he had his biggest successes in the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champions ...

, which he won with a

Lancia Delta S4 The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car manufactured by the Italian car company Lancia. The Delta S4 competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B class was disbanded and the cars were eventually banned from competit ...

in 1986, and with a

Lancia Delta Integrale The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979-1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) debuted at the 1993 Gen ...

and a Delta HF 4WD in 1988. He also finished runner-up twice; in 1985 to

Dario Cerrato Dario Cerrato, (born 2 September 1951) is a former Italian rally driver three times on the podium in World Rally Championship races. He won five times the Italian Rally Championship. WRC podium Other results *European Rally Championship The E ...

and in 1991 to

Piero Liatti Piero Liatti (born 7 March 1962) is an Italian rally driver. His specialty was driving on tarmac rallies like Monte Carlo, Catalunya, Corsica and the San Remo Rally. At the end of season 2021, Liatti is the last Italian driver to win a race in ...

. In 1990, Tabaton placed third in the championship.

Italian Rally Championship

In the

Italian Rally Championship The Campionato Italiano Rally (C.I.R.) (''Italian Rally Championship'') is the main rally championship, which takes place in Italy. , the championship consists of eight rallies,Italian Rally Championship – Race Calendar 2017'. Retrieved 20 Febr ...

, he captured the title in 1985 with a

Lancia Rally 037 The Lancia Rally (''Tipo 151'', also known as the Lancia Rally 037, Lancia 037 or Lancia-Abarth #037 from its Abarth project code ''SE037'') was a mid-engine sports car and rally car built by Lancia in the early 1980s to compete in the FIA Group ...

and in 1987 with a Delta HF 4WD.

World Rally Championship

In the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

, Tabaton competed at his home event, the

Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally ...

, seven times. He retired in all but two occasions; driving for the Grifone team, he took fourth place in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

in a 037, and fifth place in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

in a Delta HF 4WD. He made a one-off return to the WRC in the 1999 season, competing with a

Toyota Corolla WRC The Toyota Corolla WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Toyota Castrol Team by Toyota Motorsport GmbH to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the E110 version of Toyota Corolla road car. The car was debuted at the 1997 ...

at the

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...

, but retired on the ninth stage.

Post-racing career

After his racing career, Tabaton has worked as the head of the Grifone and Step2 organizations, which have continued their extensive programmes in European rallying. Grifone was also responsible for MotoGP star

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...

's WRC debut at the 2002

Wales Rally GB Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...

in a

Peugeot 206 WRC The Peugeot 206 WRC is a World Rally Car based on the Peugeot 206. It was used by Peugeot Sport, Peugeot's factory team, in the World Rally Championship from 1999 to 2003. The car brought Peugeot the manufacturers' world title three years in a ro ...

References

External links

Profile at ewrc-results.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabaton, Fabrizio 1955 births Italian rally drivers Living people World Rally Championship drivers European Rally Championship drivers